“I don’t have that kind of relationship with Kichef.”

“…What?”

Responding a beat late, he raised his head and looked down at me. A condescending gaze full of disdain. My mind instantly became complicated.

Giovanni has a sexual preference for men. That proposition wavered.

‘I thought it was strange.’

But I couldn’t be sure.

For him, he has never shown interest in any woman before. Of course, not in men either…

‘So, have I been thinking wrong all this time?’

As soon as I broke the premise error, the words I just uttered came to mind.

…My head hurts.

I subtly avoided Giovanni’s gaze, silently entering the room before he could say anything.

Thud.

As the door closed, a sigh escaped involuntarily.

‘No, this can’t be happening.’

If Giovanni’s matters become complicated, it would be a big problem. As if I don’t have enough to think about.

“I’m already too confused with just your affairs.”

I murmured towards the round lump of blanket on the bed.

“You seem lost too.”

“….”

“Aris.”

There was no response. I sighed, pulling my hair that clung to my cheek. The damp rain had permeated through my hair, clothes, underwear, and shoes.

I moved with a downcast mood.

Bowing my head to look inside the blanket, Aris was wearing it like a cloak and constantly murmuring incomprehensible words.

Her sweaty face was devoid of any color, and her body trembled as if cold. Her cheeks were tinged with a vivid flush.

Instinctively, my body shuddered at the bizarre sight.

A lunatic.

The current Aris was no different from a lunatic.

‘Since when has she been like this?’

After the sacrificial ceremony, not a single ant had dared to approach her room. Partly due to Hubert’s strict orders, but also because everyone was afraid to come near, fearing they might be cursed.

Straightening my hunched back, I surveyed the surroundings.

The room was a mess, as if a typhoon had swept through. There was no way the bed could be intact.

A week ago, Aris used to meticulously arrange everything to ensure not a single canopy was out of place.

Now, it felt like a dream to think of the once splendid scenery.

‘I didn’t expect it to be in this state.’

Aris, encountered for the first time after the sacrificial ceremony.

‘She looked so decent when she made an accident. Maybe that’s why.’

A wry smile escaped. It’s funny to think that I envied and admired such a trivial relationship.

I looked down at the trembling Aris.
“When this situation is over, you’ll face punishment. Rumor has it that the royal wrath is not to be taken lightly.”

“…….”

“If the rain doesn’t stop, it’ll get worse. You might be executed. Your head might be severed on the guillotine, just like mine in the past.”

I wanted to laugh out loud. No, I didn’t particularly want to, but for some reason, it felt like I had to.

But even that withered away when I saw Aris, who might not even know who is in front of her.

Aris continued to mumble incomprehensible words.

“……Hey.”

“…….”

I lifted the blanket.

“Woo!”

Aris, startled, struggled to get into the blanket.

Clearing the blanket again, she wrapped her head with her hands, then violently slammed her forehead on the bedsheet, making faint sounds.

Her lips, smeared with blood, produced a feeble sound as they twitched up and down continuously.

Listening carefully, she seemed to be repeating the same words.

Scary, scary, scary.

“What are you scared of?”

“Sorry, I was wrong. Scared. So, don’t do it. Scared. It hurts. I was wrong…….”

An apology directed towards whom?

Lowering my head, my forearm was covered in goosebumps.

‘What’s this?’

Feeling uneasy, I rubbed my forearms with both hands. The sensation of damp clothes gradually drying was unpleasant.

The eerie feeling was probably due to the lowered body temperature. To shake off the discomfort, I spoke to Aris.

“Luckily, you won’t die from this incident. I’m trying to stop this dreadful rain.”

“…….”

“Of course, not for your sake. We don’t need to sacrifice innocent people unnecessarily.”

Moreover, surviving is not the end.

Aris is only clinging to her life.

Because she will lose the power of a priest.

“It will be even harder for you.”

I grinned and reached out to Aris, sweeping away her tangled hair.

A white nape revealed itself.

Unintentionally, I exerted strength into the legs that almost stepped back.

‘When did this grow so much?’

The tattoo that covered the damp neck entirely was no longer the size of a palm-sized droplet, as it was in the past.

Pulling down the loose chemise, I exposed my back. The tattoo had spread to my back.

Staring down at ‘it’ in amazement.

The grotesquely distorted tattoo emitted a blue light, undulating.

The tattoo grew, and from the periphery, blue lines were wriggling like a snake, as if trying to engulf Aris’s entire body.

Creepy, a chill ran down my spine.

Even touching it felt creepy.

‘It absorbs that?’

My confidence plummeted rapidly.

Swayaaaah…. The sound of rain dug into my ears.

I spread my hand. If it continues like this, it will touch her back.